The Lockup

Among the many things I love about Japan (the food, culture, beautiful landscapes, etc.) there are also themed restaurants. One of which I experienced about a week ago. "The Lockup" is a restaurant where you get "locked" in a cage while eating dinner and all of the drinks are prison/ Halloween (or what I consider Halloween) themed. Also, in the middle of your dinner all of the lights go out and people in costumes sneak around your cell and in the windows to scare you...all while the Ghostbusters theme song is playing. Hilarious! There are others that I hope to get to while we have our time here in Japan, but this was definitely a good start!

Peach Picking, Washi Paper Making and a Winery

We have an organization on base called MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) that provides the Navy and their families with great activities and opportunities. One of the many things they do in Japan is schedule tours to different places all over the place. A few weeks ago, I went on one of the tours which included fresh peach picking, washi paper making and a tour of a winery.

Our first stop was a peach orchard with tons of trees and the most beautiful (and delicious) peaches I have encountered. We were given a 1/2 hour to eat as many peaches as we wished and then we could purchase some at the end.







I brought home 3, which made a delicious breakfast the next day!


Next, we went to a washi paper making facility. We each got an apron and a screen, which we poured 3 different colors of washi liquid over. Each layer had to be poured slowly and then we had to gently tilt the screens around so that the excess liquid would drain out. When we were done, we made a design in our paper and they took them to let them dry. I have to pick my finished piece up this week as I was gone the last few days.









Last, but not least, was the winery. We took a tour through the vineyards and got to try each type of grape. That was followed by the wine tasting room and the purchasing of lots of wine!









The damage...